Brief
Biography of Metropolitan Kirykos of Mesogaias and Lavreotikis

Metropolitan
Kirykos, was born Menas Kontogiannis in 1950, in Leftkada Greece. His
parents Father Thomas and Presbytera Zoe Kontogiannis instilled in him
the values, teachings and zeal of the Orthodox faith. In 1949, at the
GOC church of the Holy Apostles, in Leftkada, during the service, the
police were sent to arrest the priest for serving on the old calendar.
The women of the parish quickly formed a human wall around the priest;
one of these women was Zoe Kontogiannis, who was pregnant with Menas
Kontogiannis at that time. The police seeing that she was pregnant,
shoved her out of the way and told her to “GET OUT OF HERE”, Zoe
Kontogiannis, burning with zeal for the Orthodox church refused to
abandon her faith, a second women by the name of Angela seeing that a
scuffle was starting went over to offer assistance, the scuffle
escalated and Angela was injured by the police, and later died from her
wounds. This burning zeal for Orthodoxy that was aflame in Zoe
Kontogiannis is a example of what was transferred and taught to her son
Menas Kontogiannis (Metropolitan Kirykos). His earthly father, Father
Thomas, taught him the importance of charity and mercy, always giving
whatever he had to anyone in need, he also showed him the importance of
a community within a church. Father Thomas, through his tireless
efforts, built the church of the Holy Trinity, which later developed
into a thriving Orthodox community. These loving Orthodox parents, by
building a foundation of Orthodoxy within their son, created a spark
that eventually would burst into a flame.

As
a young man, while spending time at his uncle’s monastery in Larissa,
Menas Kontogiannis’ love for the Orthodox Church continued to grow,
and was guided and honed by his uncle the Confessor Hieromonk Kirykos.

After
graduating from high school Menas Kontogiannis (Met. Kirykos), inspired
by some of the Fathers of the Church such as Saint Basil the Great,
decided to follow in their footsteps and traveled to Athens to study
philosophy and theology, receiving a University degree in both. After
receiving these degrees, aflame with zeal for our Lord Jesus Christ, he
quit his position at the bank, and immediately set out in service to the
Orthodox Church.

Under
the mentorship of the Orthodox theologian Eleftherios Goutzides, Menas
Kontogiannis quickly became one of the most loved and respected
theologians of the Holy Synod. He also became a writer and editor for
the official periodical of the Genuine Orthodox Church. While holding
these positions, he spent countless hours in research, composed numerous
theological pieces, as well as stern and informative epistles. Also
during this time he played a key role in composing or contributing to
various official documents of the Genuine Orthodox Church.

Archbishop
Andrew, seeing the zeal of Menas Kontogiannis, desired for the respected
theologian to be ordained to the priesthood. But
Menas refused to be ordained unless the issue pertaining to the 1971
prayers of absolution was discussed, because much misinformation was
being circulated concerning the events in Boston of 1971, falsely
stating that a cheirothesia took place and not a prayer of absolution.
Archbishop Andrew seeing that this showed great discretion and love for
true confession of faith on the part of Menas, decided to grant the
request. So in 1981 Archbishop Andreas called the council session at
which all hierarchs, including Metropolitan Epiphanios of Cyprus, were
present. Menas was also present at this council, and it was decreed in
his presence that the events were a prayer of absolution, and in no way
affected the Apostolic Succession of the Holy Synod, which was, is, and
will always be the factual position of the GOC. This council put to rest
the rumours and misinformation being spread about the events of 1971.

In
1982, Menas Kontogiannis was tonsured a rassophore monk, and renamed
Kirykos after his confessor uncle who had passed away in 1974, he was
then ordained to the deaconate and later the priesthood by the then
Archbishop Andrew. Father Kirykos was then appointed to the position of
chief secretary to the Holy Synod.

Between
1980 and 1995, Father Kirykos was approached several times by new
calendar “theologians”, including Sakarellos, and also some old
calendar theologians from the various Akakian/Florinite schisms. These
people approached Father Kirykos with the intentions of getting him to
assist in uniting all the old calendarists and placing them under a
Patriarch or Local Church. This unification was to be based on the
“cheirothesia” of 1971, the very falsehood which Father Kirykos had
petitioned to the Holy Synod to clarify. Seeing first hand the evil
intentions of these people, and not willing to compromise his Apostolic
Succession, Confession of Faith, or the truth, Father
Kirykos
CATEGORICALLY REFUSED, and regarded any such assistance to this cause as
blasphemous. He refused to take part in the cause for “Old
Calendarist Ecumenism”.

At
the request and with the blessing of the Synod he traveled to Cyprus,
Canada, the United States, Russia and other countries to help develop
the Orthodox communities in these countries and under his guidance they
were all able to flourish into thriving communities. The GOC Catacomb
Church of Russia was also placed under his pastoral care by the Holy
Synod.

Through
his tireless efforts he helped to build or restore numerous churches in
various GOC communities throughout the world, unselfishly giving himself
to the needs of his spiritual children. In 1990, he began building St.
Catherine’s
in Koropi, Greece which, after his consecration to Metropolitan, would
serve as his residence.

In
1995, he was tonsured as a great-schema monk, and was then consecrated a
Bishop. He was enthroned in a beautiful ceremony which corresponded with
the inauguration of St. Catherine’s
Cathedral, in the presence of the Holy Synod and a vast number of
laymen. Father Kyrikos was now Metropolitan Kyrikos of Mesogaias
and Lavreotikis.

In
1998, Metropolitan Kirykos traveled for the first time to Stavropol.
When he arrived, he was amazed to be welcomed by the ringing of
church-bells. This amazed him because he had not told anyone that he was
planning to go there. Metropolitan Kirykos keeps his travel plans a
complete secret, and arrives whenever he arrives. Originally he did not
even plan to go to Stavropol. He simply decided at the last minute,
since he was in Voronezh, to travel down to Stavropol to venerate the
relics of Theodosius the Confessor (a Catacomb saint who reposed in
1948). He wished to venerate his relics because he had read the life of
this elder, and admired him. When Metropolitan Kirykos asked why the
bells were ringing, the people replied that they did not know he was
arriving, and they are not even sure who rang the bells. No one admitted
to ringing them. It was as if they were ringing on their own, to show
their joy that a True Orthodox bishop was visiting Stavropol for the
first time since the repose of the catacomb bishops.

Almost immediately, a very old nun approached the Metropolitan and
handed to him an omophorion and an epignation, and "traveling
antimins." When Metropolitan Kirykos asked why she was giving these
to him, the nun replied that in 1948, a few days before St. Theodosius
the Confessor reposed, he asked her to take his vestments and antimins
and place them in a certain box in the cellar, and to not let anyone
know where they are. St. Theodosius then told her that in exactly 50
years a Greek bishop will arrive with the sounding of bells, and that
she (the nun) is to then go down into the cellar, find the vestments and
antimins, and give them to the Greek bishop. St. Theodosius then reposed
three days later.

The
day Metropolitan Kirykos arrived in Stavropol was on the very date St.
Theodosius had commanded the nun to hide the relics (the same date, 50
years later). Three days after Metropolitan Kirykos’ arrival, was the
commemoration of the repose of Blessed Theodosius. The Metropolitan went
to the cemetery and served a memorial service over his tomb. He served
the memorial/moleben whilst wearing St. Theodosius’ own vestments.

Metropolitan Kirykos now always wears these vestments and uses the
"traveling antimensia" whenever he is serving abroad. He also
takes with him the relics of St. Matthew of Bresthena, and sometimes
those of St. Catherine the New Martyr. He also takes holy chrism with
him, which he has from three sources: a) chrism blessed by the
Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1912; b) chrism blessed by Patriarch Tikhon
and the Russian Synod in 1925; c) chrism blessed by Archbishop
Agathangelos and the Matthewite Synod in 1959.

Metropolitan
Kirykos’ humility and dedication to the Orthodox Church and his
spiritual children is shown through his actions. In 2004, after hearing
of the death of one of his spiritual children in Canada, he traveled
half way around the world within 48 hours in order to perform the burial
service.

Metropolitan
Kirykos from the beginning was and is a confessor for the struggle of
the Orthodox Church. As mentioned earlier he has contributed greatly to
the writings and formulations of numerous articles, encyclicals and
epistles about the ecclesiology of the Genuine Orthodox Church on all
matters of faith including the 1924 schism of the new calendarists, the
Florinite schism of 1937 and the 1971 events as well as old calendar
ecumenism.

Metropolitan
Kirykos remains staunch in his Orthodox Confession, which is the
Ecclesiology of the Genuine Orthodox Church as was preserved under the
Zealot Confessor Fathers, and was protected and delivered through Saint
Matthew the New Confessor, and the successor Genuine Orthodox Bishops,
who are the true successors to the Holy Apostles, through the Orthodox
cheirotonias of 1935, 1948, 1995 and 2008.